Bus driver killed and 20 passengers injured in Kanchanaburi



KANCHANABURI: -- The driver of a tour bus was killed and 20 other passengers were injured, three of them seriously after the vehicle hit a concrete barrier and crashed into a mountain near the Srinakharind dam in Kanchanaburi province today (Friday).

The accident occurred on the Srinakharind-Sisawat road in Sisawat district as the tour bus carrying a group of about 20 tourists from Sing Buri was descending from the mountain.

Sisawat district police suspected that the driver, Mr Supachai Sukchoen, might not be familiar with the route causing the bus to hit the roadside barrier before crashing into the mountain wall as he tried unsuccessfully to negotiate the downhill descent.

The driver was crushed to death behind the steering wheel.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/160682

-- Thai PBS 2016-04-22

"Sisawat district police suspected that the driver, Mr Supachai Sukchoen, might not be familiar with the route causing the bus to hit the roadside barrier before crashing into the mountain wall as he tried unsuccessfully to negotiate the downhill descent."

Well, if you're unfamiliar with a road, especially one that goes downhill and probably has many curves, you drive extra careful and extra slow - unless you're a Thai driver, of course.

These tragic stories will continue to occur until something very serious is done about local drivers' education and licensing, particularly of those who carry passengers.

Edited April 22, 201610 yr by Misterwhisper

Looks like another death trap bus. And always blame something else, the road, wet weather, ghost, you name it. Never the real reason.!

skill set

weight + speed

R.I P.

The driver was simply driving too fast. Also expect the driver had made the trip numerous times as bus drivers usually have the same route over and over.

I could not have said it better than Misterwhisper above..

Until such time as the authorities in high places take this carnage on the roads very seriously and introduce professional driver training for all public licensed vehicles including buses, vans, taxis and trucks,I expect reports of this nature to continue to provide fodder for TVF readers.

My condolences to the grieving family of the driver. Fortunately there were no other fatalities reported.

Professional drivers should always drive at a speed relative to the weather and road conditions.

His lack of familiarity with the route as mentioned by the police only means he should have exercised greater caution.

Get's a bit repetitive, doesn't it!

...and of course, someone up high will call for a crackdown soon...with nothing being done!

Same same- no different!

I refuse to use buses to travel anywhere. I will take a train as I am more likely to survive as they are not the fastest form of transport here. If I use a mini-bus it is through a very close family friend and he knows to take it easy. Luckily I do not have to travel much as I am usually busy.

The steeper and the longer on any downhill section the lower the gear.The engine acts as the major brake and the brakes themselves are used in a minimal fashion in conjunction with the engine so as not to burn the brakes out

Result slow but sure and safe descent of the hill.

However you only know that if you were actually taught to drive and had to pass a test unlike here sad to say. In the U.K and elsewhere in Europe as well as many other parts of the world the path to become a P.S.V Driver is a testing one.

Safety First. Yes accidents happen and full investigations are carried out as to why they happened, lessons are learned so as to minimize the risk of accidents in the future.

Edited April 22, 201610 yr by shunter

The driver of a tour bus was killed....

Well, I guess there is some "justice" in the world.

On and on and on and on.

That must be one each day for the last week!

Start the engine and a brown envelope gets you your license.

checked into TV earlier today and thought "Where is today's bus accident story?"

It was just late getting here.

RIP poorly trained bus driver man.

I ride that quite often. It is highly technical and very tight. There are sections with corners every 30 yards. It gets washed out in the rainy season and has boulders on the road much of the time.

Not many alternative routes though; it's a long way around via Bo Phloi …

RIP

"Sisawat district police suspected that the driver, Mr Supachai Sukchoen, might not be familiar with the route..."

What the driver was not familiar with was "Safe and Responsible Driving".

Don't despair. The bus company will hire another incompetent driver and we will be reading the same headline again very soon.

See the story has yet to be finalised, brake failure has not been mentioned.

Maybe the bus companies should face a big fine every time one of their drivers causes an accident, regardless of fatalities. This might give them an incentive to prioritise driver skills and their responsibility to maintain vehicles and encourage safe driving. The companies could even pay a bond for each bus which is returned if the bus has an accident free working life but which is confiscated if there is any kind of driver fault or vehicle fault accident. The value should be significant, e.g. 30% of the value of the vehicle. The bonds paid in could be an insurance fund to compensate victims of bus accidents.

I know of 1 bus company in Bangkok which builds its reputation on safety and driver skills and know that several others recruit Muslim drivers by preference to reduce the chances of drivers under the influence of alcohol. There is also a growing tendency among big International schools to insist on breathalysing drivers (their own and contract) before they are allowed to board their passengers.

Solutions are not rocket science, but some sections of society would rather wring their hands at every accident than do something about it.

Blame it on brake failure as always.

Meaning the brakes were useless and failed to stop the crash.

Yeah, looks like the driver did not engage a lower gear and relied on the brakes like a few more idiots here.

The steeper and the longer on any downhill section the lower the gear.The engine acts as the major brake and the brakes themselves are used in a minimal fashion in conjunction with the engine so as not to burn the brakes out

Result slow but sure and safe descent of the hill.

However you only know that if you were actually taught to drive and had to pass a test unlike here sad to say. In the U.K and elsewhere in Europe as well as many other parts of the world the path to become a P.S.V Driver is a testing one.

Safety First. Yes accidents happen and full investigations are carried out as to why they happened, lessons are learned so as to minimize the risk of accidents in the future.

Totally agree. One of the advantages of being an old fogey is that I (we) learned to drive with manual transmissions in cars that had drum brakes all round, often not very efficient at that. Automatic transmissions were a small minority.

We were taught in the army 'drive on your gearbox, not on your brakes'. I've always been grateful for that being 'drummed' into me. Forgive the pun.

There are sections of that road with continuous steep grades and curves. A substantial concrete barrier runs on the outside of the road where the mountain drops off. He must have gone up that road earlier to the dam so should have know that coming back down would require gear braking. There are signs in Thai and English warning of steep grades and to engage low gear. This is another example of a lack of driving skill in a Passenger Service Vehicle. I have no sympathy for him but I do for the unsuspecting tourist pax who put there trust in him.

If you live in Thailand you know that no-one ever accepts responsibility for their actions. Others will always give them a way out because that is the "culture". Face is everything! It used to drive me nuts but eventually you just learn to let it flow over you.

So we have learnt that Thainess doesn't move mountains. Bet that came as a surprise to a lot of Thais.

The steeper and the longer on any downhill section the lower the gear.The engine acts as the major brake and the brakes themselves are used in a minimal fashion in conjunction with the engine so as not to burn the brakes out

Result slow but sure and safe descent of the hill.

However you only know that if you were actually taught to drive and had to pass a test unlike here sad to say. In the U.K and elsewhere in Europe as well as many other parts of the world the path to become a P.S.V Driver is a testing one.

Safety First. Yes accidents happen and full investigations are carried out as to why they happened, lessons are learned so as to minimize the risk of accidents in the future.

Totally agree. One of the advantages of being an old fogey is that I (we) learned to drive with manual transmissions in cars that had drum brakes all round, often not very efficient at that. Automatic transmissions were a small minority.

We were taught in the army 'drive on your gearbox, not on your brakes'. I've always been grateful for that being 'drummed' into me. Forgive the pun.

Drum brakes all round, what luxury - the car I did most of my learning on had external band brakes on the rear and from memory nothing on the front and with 3 speed crash gearbox.

It was a great learning experience.

Edited April 23, 201610 yr by Artisi

Mountains sometimes jump in front of busses. Happens all over the world. Driver is victim here. Bad mountain, bad mountain.